Pick counter



A. H. MORTON.

PICK COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28. 1919.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

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Inventor W M M citizen of the United States, residing UNITED STATES PATENT omen;

ALBERT, H. MORTON, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

not comv'rrm.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

Application filed my 2a, 1919. Serial No. 300,285.

a full, clear, and exact description of the inreducing mechanism and a counter. reduclng mechanism is enclosed in a heavy" vention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to an improvement in pick counters for looms and the like. Looms are subject to jar, pounding and vibration of such severity that it has so far been found impracticable to provide them with a counter uponlwhich dependence could be placed. The object of the present invention is to produce a pick counter of' such sturdy construction as to stand the pounding and vibration incident to use on looms, and which in addition has features of construction rendering it proof against tampering by the operatives. To these ends, the present invention consists in the pick counter hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the pick counter shown on a reduced scale; Fig. 2is' a longitudinal sectional elevation; Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are enlarged details .7 of! ortions of the number rings and transfer pinions; and Fig.

7 is a transverse sectional elevation on the lines 77, Fig.2. g

The illustrated embodiment of the invention is described as follows The pick countercoinprises two part sfh'a metal-casin closed at one end "by a portion adapted to be secured tothe loom shaft and closed at the other end by a part which constitutes the support for the counter. Both the reducing mechanism andthe counter are made of parts of generousproportions adapted to withstand the vibrat on, poundingand hammering of the, operation of the loom for long periods of time without any attention.

Referring to the drawings, and partic'ularl to Fig. 2 the reducing mechanism 14 is shown at the right hand and and the counter 10 at the left hand end. The reducing mechanism is provided with a casing 12 made of cast iron about a quarter of an inch thick. The counter 10 is'covered with a casmg of stamped heavy sheet steel so that the mechanism of the instrument iswell protected against accidental blows and deterioration-due to vibration or any attempt at tampering. V

The reducing mechanism is described as follows:

In the casing 12 at the right hand end is mounted the shaft connector 16 which has a :cup shaped portion to receive the end of the loom shaft 17. This shaft connector 16 is slipped over the end of the loom shaft and is secured in place thereon by means of two set screws 19. These set screws are set up by a wrench which is inserted through the hole 25, the set screws being brought one after the other into position in alignment with the hole for this purpose. After they have been set up tightly, the hole 25 is closed by screwing in the rod 28 which is employed for the purpose of holding the pick counter from rotation with the shaft 17, its end being inserted in a hole in the bracket 22, secured to the loom frame. The rod 28 and the bracket 22 comprise means for preventing the rotation of the pick counter. The casing 12 is necked down at 18 to embrace the reduced end of the shaft connector 16. On the inside end of the shaft'connector 16 is the disk 29which fits within the enlarged portion of the casing 12 and rotates therein.

The disk 29 bears the crank pin 31 which supports the two pinions 20 and 23. The pinion 20 has an extended hub which re- 'ceivesthe pinion 23 and to which the latter is splined by the key 27. The pinions 2023 are supportedon the rollerbearing 15 so as to turn freely on the. crank pin 31. The

pinion'sa 20-23 have twent and twentythree teeth respectively. epinion 20 meshes with the teeth of the fixed internal gear 26 and the pinion 23 meshes with the teeth of the free internal gear 30. The fixed internal gear 26'is secured in position by set screws 32. After assembly, the set screw holes are filled with putty or cement and the aint or enamel entirely conceals their existence. The free internal gear 30 rotates inside of and is supported the casing 12. The internal gears 26 and 30 ave twenty-six and thirty teeth respectively. The-free iiiternal gear 30 is provided with two laterally extended pins 33 which engage two slots 34 in the counter driving disk 54, which is provided with a hub extending into a bearing in the plate 52 which constitutes a closure for the reducing mechanism casing' 12, being secured in the mouth of the casing by driven pins 53. This plate 52 is provided with a ring bearing 37 which constitutes a frame for the counter and a support for the number rings thereof. The driving disk 54 1S provided with'a shaft or spindle 38 secured in its hub by a set screw.

. The arrangement of the shaft connector 16, the crank pin 31 carrying the two pinions and 23, which mesh respectively with the fixed ring gear 26 and the rotatable ring gear 30, is such that three hundred rotations of the loom shaft 17 cause one rotation of the counter driving shaft 38.

The shaft connector rotating at loom shaft speed requires lubrication which is secured by means of the oil hole 59. Any excess of oil which does not work out of the right hand end of the bearing may pass down around the disk 29 and reach the inside of the reducin mechanism casing. Its free flow through the casing is obstructed by the fixed ring gear 26, but any excess of oil is permitted to escape through the oil drip hole'60. Any flow of oil from the reducing mechanism to the counter is prevented by the counter driving disk 54 around which the oil would be required to pass in order to gain access to the counter, and by the further fact that any oilwhich did pass by the counter driving disk 54 would be required to climb the walls of the plate 52 in order to pass out between the hub of the counter driving disk 54 and the bearing in the plate 52. Thus it is seen that for all practical pu oses no oil can pass from the reducing mec a-nism to the-counter. The counter is provided with five number rin s 35 supported on the ring bearing 37. he units or right hand ring 35 is actuated by the driving pinion 45 which is splined on the shaft or spindle 38'. connected as heretofore described to the counter driving disk 54 by which it is driven. The units ring 35 actuates the tens transfer pinion 36 and the latter actuates the tens ring 35 and so on. The transfer pinions are rotatable freely on the shaft or spindle 38. The number rings 35 are held in placd on the ring bearing 37 by the end plate 42 secured to the ring hearing by the screws 431 This end plate also serves as an end bearing for the transfer pinion shaft or spindle 38. The counter is provided with a steel cover 40 driven on to.

The counter.

the boss 39 on the late 52. cover is provided wit a window 41 through which the numbers of the number rings are "rigihie. This window is made of celluloid and is adhesively secured to the inside of the cover by Canada balsam being positioned as shown in Figs. 1 and 7 near the top of the cover so that the reading is'easily read from one side and above the counter. A fibre packing such as felt 44 is placed between the number rings 35 and the cover 40 so that the vibration of the number rings-by the operation of the loom is prevented. In the absence of such means for preventing vibration, the rings would wear and create a dust which would destroy the legibility of the numbers thereon b accumulation on the outer surface thereo By reference particularly to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, it will be seen that the operation of the transfer pinions' and number rings is that of the well-known Geneva stop motion. The units or driving pinion 45 and the transfer pinions 36 each have six teeth. The number rings are each provided with twenty internal gear teeth 51. Each number ring except the last is provided on its lateral surface with a air of transfer teeth 50 which are designe to engage the teeth of the next succeeding transfer pinion to transmit motion from one number ring to the next. Three of the teeth 56 of each transfer pinion 36 are extended axially beyond the other three teeth 57 and have bevelled corners 55 which form bearing surfaces for locking the plnion from rotation by engagement with the interior surface of the adjacent number ring, while the shorter intermediate teeth 57 engage only the teeth 51 of the ring. The above described arrangement is such that the units number ring 35 is continuously rotated during the operation of the pick counter the units driving pinion 45. Once in each rotation of the number ring 35 its transfer teeth 50 engage the long teeth 56 of the next transfer pinion and rotate that transfe pinion through one-third of a rotation. This transfer pinion thereby rotates its number ringa distance sufficient to bring the next number into reading position Then the teeth 56 engaging the smooth inner surface of the preceding number ring hold the pinion from rotation until the transfer teeth 50 of such ring a ain engage the pinion. For each one-thir of a rotation of the pinions 45 and 36 its number ring is advanced one-tenth of a rotation,so that the reduction of the counter is three and one-third to one (31]; to 1). The product of the two reductions is therefore one thousand to one, being three hundred to one for the reducing mechanism and three and one-third to one for the counter, as a consequence of which each unit of the number shown at the window of the counter will indicate one hundred picks of the loom.

While I have described the invention as apick counter and while it is particularly adapted for such use for the reasons hereincounting devices carried by the frame. and reducing mechanism connecting the shaft connector and counting device.

2. A pick counter for looms having. in combination. a casing. a. plate for closing one side of the casing. a shaft connector for closing the other side of the casing. the plate and shaft connector constituting means for preventing the passage of oil from between'them in one direction to the counter and in the other direction to waste reducing mechanism between the plate and shaft connector, a. counter provided with number rings. and a support for the number rings carried by the plate.

1"). A pick counter for looms having, in combination. a casing. a shaft connector rotatablv mounted in the casing having pro vision for the reception of the end of a loom shaft and tor attachment thereto. a counter mounted on the casing and connections between the shaft connector and counter.

A pick counter "for looms having. in combination. a casing. reducing mechanism mounted in the casing adapted to be secured to a loom shaft. a counter comprising num-- her rings. a cover for the counter, and fibrous packing between the peripheries of the number rings and the cover.

5. A pick counter for looms having a plurality of number rings provided with numbers on the external surface thereof, a cover adapted to encase said rings, cushionin; means interposed between the said cover and rin 's to PI'QVQIlt vibration thereof. and means to operatively connect the said rings with the shaft whereby the rings are actuated by rotations of the shaft.

ALBERT H. MORTON. 

